Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Department of Orthopeadics and Traumatology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, SAR, People's Republic of China.
Biomacromolecules. 2021 Feb 8;22(2):671-680. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01488. Epub 2021 Jan 24.
Cartilage lesion is a common tissue defect and is challenging in clinical practice. Trauma-induced cellular senescence could decrease the chondrocyte capability of maintaining cartilage tissue regeneration. A previous investigation showed that, by controlling the cellular senescence, the cartilage regeneration can be significantly accelerated. Based on this finding, we design a novel hydrogel, Alg/MH-Sr, that combines metformin, an established drug for inhibiting senescence, and strontium, an effective anti-inflammatory material for cartilage tissue engineering. A RT-PCR test suggests the significant inhibitory effect of the hydrogel on senescent, apoptotic, oxidative, and inflammatory genes' expression. Histological examinations demonstrate that the Alg/MH-Sr hydrogel accelerated cartilage repairment, and chondrocyte senescence was significantly inhibited. Our study demonstrates that the Alg/MH-Sr hydrogel is effective for cartilage defect treatment and provides a new clue in accelerating tissue repairment by inhibiting the senescence of cells and tissues.
软骨损伤是一种常见的组织缺陷，在临床实践中极具挑战性。创伤诱导的细胞衰老会降低软骨细胞维持软骨组织再生的能力。先前的一项研究表明，通过控制细胞衰老，软骨再生可以显著加快。基于这一发现，我们设计了一种新型水凝胶 Alg/MH-Sr，它结合了二甲双胍（一种已被证实可抑制衰老的药物）和锶（一种有效的用于软骨组织工程的抗炎材料）。实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）试验表明，该水凝胶对衰老、凋亡、氧化和炎症基因表达具有显著的抑制作用。组织学检查表明，Alg/MH-Sr 水凝胶加速了软骨修复，显著抑制了软骨细胞衰老。我们的研究表明，Alg/MH-Sr 水凝胶可有效治疗软骨缺损，并通过抑制细胞和组织衰老为加速组织修复提供了新的线索。
